So, I sometimes wonder why in the h-ll my Duetto has the hot water pipe coming off the steam boiler, rather than the brew boiler? Besides it not feeling all that pleasant to have little scalding hot splashes on my wrist and hand, it's just always seemed odd to me. Given one of the purposes of including a hot water wand is to make tea, it doesn't make a lot of sense to have the water flash to steam as it exits the wand, giving you essentially nearly 212F degree water, rather than approximately 200F degree water. Of course, one uses that wand to flush the steam boiler, helping prevent scaling inside, so at in least in that sense, there's some logic to it. Well, recently, I had a chance to do some pouring art training on a GS/3...and, by G-d, the GS/3 hot water pipe comes out of the brew boiler! This regenerated my curiousity and got me back on my campaign of wondering what the Izzo engineers were thinking when they designed the hot water path. Is this just a residual of the E61 origin as a HX machine, which obviated the need for the hot water wand to come off the steam (ONLY) boiler? Or was it the best way they could think to allow someone the opportunity to flush the boiler? I'm also wondering how the GS/3 steam boiler gets flushed regularly to prevent scale build-up. Not that it matter to me, since I don't own one.

You heat up you espresso machine to make tea? That's what an electric kettle is for, all in under 2 minutes.

My hot water wand dispenses flash-boiling water but by the time it hits the cold cup it's already cooled to 207F - and by the time my shot's ready for an Americano the water has cooled to a perfect ~185F.

I guess I don't see what the problem is?

Of course, I do not heat up my espresso machine to make tea...I'd consider that ludicrous! In fact, I never even said I was actually making tea in my first post of this thread, so...I don't see how you ever got that absurd idea.

Anyhow, since you seem to think that, I'll disclose my machine use. I have been an avid home espresso enthusiast for well over 10 years. We had 4 other avid espresso drinkers in my home until about a year ago, when my wife switched to drinking primarily tea. We entertain quite a bit, so I am often making a fair number of espresso-based drinks back to back. That out of the way...on to the discussion about engineering....

I thought it was clear - the two "issues" I have are:

1) scalding hot splashes on my hand and wrist from drawing water that flashes to steam as it exits the hot water wand
2) why one should have to draw water at 212F and wait for it to cool, rather than take it directly from a 200F source.

I'm wondering (for the sake of curiosity and what I thought would be interesting discussion):

1) why the hot water wand on my machine comes off the steam boiler and not the brew boiler.
2) how one flushes a steam boiler on a GS/3.
...and now...
perhaps since I've never bothered to measure the water temp I'm using to make my wife's tea (since she doesn't care - demonstrated by her lack of even taking the tea bag out of the cup sometimes), would I get the same in the cup temp readings as recorded in John's reply?

Thanks for that explanation Dan - it answers my second question. I was told differently, but knowing the guy, suspect he just didn't feel it was worth the effort to explain that.

emradguy wrote:...and, by G-d, the GS/3 hot water pipe comes out of the brew boiler!

Nope 99.999% sure GS3 feeds hot water tap from steam boiler like all machines I know of. Reason simple: steam boiler pressure pushes the water out no need to involve a pump.

However higher end machines like GS3 have mixing valve to blend steam boiler water with incoming cold water.

The Profitec doesn't sputter badly at all. It flashes to steam but no stray droplets going anywhere. You can draw from your brew boiler whenever you like. Just take off the portafilter and fill your cup by activating the brew lever.

Yeah, I haven't had an issue with splattering either.

spearfish25 wrote:...You can draw from your brew boiler whenever you like. Just take off the portafilter and fill your cup by activating the brew lever.

Yup, I do that sometimes. In fact, that's my method for Americanos...give the group a quick water backflush, then flush it for 1-2 seconds, then draw the water off into the espresso.

Good to hear the Profitec doesn't splatter. Perhaps mine splatters more because I bumped up the boiler temp a few degrees to push the steam pressure to nearly 1.5 bar?

Seems though, a mixer would be a better design for the wand. Probably not included to help keep the cost down though.

I rarely ever use the hot water tap other than purging the boiler to get some fresh water in it. When I want hot water for something like a cup of tea I just put the required amount in a container then hit it with the steam wand. I can bring 2 cups of cold water to a boil in 60 seconds or less. In the odd event I do want water out the tap I just use a deeper container that will go above the dispenser, like a steaming pitcher, which avoids the hot splashes. You can also crack open the valve for a slower dispense versus cranking it all the way open and let it blast out at full pressure.